Building substantially on an initiative that began last August, Chegg.com will transition the handling of all print textbook inventory over to Ingram under a renewable, five-year agreement as the company that started as a textbook rental play moves towards becoming an all-digital “student hub.” (Digital textbook rentals will become Chegg’s biggest business, in which they compete directly with Ingram’s CourseSmart, among many other players.) Chegg is positioning the move as a full reboot of the company, whose stock has languished since it went public in late 2013 — in part because Chegg has lost money since launching in 2007, and those […]
Archives for February 2015
People, Etc.
Kirkus Media has promoted chief operating officer Meg LaBorde Kuehn to the newly created position of ceo, continuing to report to president and publisher Mark Winkleman and co-owner Herb Simon. Winkleman said in the announcement: “It’s been five years since Herb Simon and I bought Kirkus Media, and no one has been more important to the company’s turn-around than Meg. [She] has been an extraordinary leader for Kirkus, someone who inspires our staff and brings innovative ideas that have rejuvenated an 82-year-old institution in publishing.” At Yale University Press London, publisher for trade books Heather McCallum will take over as […]
People
At Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s general interest group: Helen Atsma has been hired as executive editor, starting March 16 (she was a senior editor at Grand Central) and Alex Littlefield has been hired as senior editor, starting February 26 (he was a senior editor at Basic Books). In promotions, vp, director of trade paperbacks Ken Carpenter moves up to vp, associate publisher, adding responsibility for reference and field guides. Jenna Johnson is promoted to executive editor; Nicole Angeloro moves up to editor; Ben Hyman and Naomi Gibbs are both associate editors; and Laney Everson is promoted to editorial associate. Mark Hillesheim will join Legato Publishers Group as national accounts manager on March 2. Previously […]
Baker & Taylor Sells BTMS to Readerlink, YBP to EBSCO
A formal announcement is expected on Monday detailing a sale of Baker & Taylor’s Baker & Taylor Merchandise Services (BTMS) unit to ReaderLink, consolidating the latter’s leading position distributing books to warehouse clubs and mass merchandisers. BTMS is based around the assets acquired in bankruptcy from Advanced Marketing Services (AMS) in 2007, servicing the wholesale club business. ReaderLink is also acquiring the former AMS publishing lines (including Thunder Bay Press, Silver Dolphin and Portable Press) as part of the transaction. PGW has been the distributor of those imprints. ReaderLink mentioned the acquisition — agreed to some time ago, and awaiting clearance […]
Former Writers Coffee Shop Partner Wins Lawsuit Seeking Share of Fifty Shades Windfall
A Texas state court jury has ruled in a 10-2 decision that Jennifer Lynn Pedroza, former chief marketing officer of Australian publisher The Writers Coffee Shop, is entitled to a share of the proceeds of the publisher’s most prominent titles, EL James’ FIFTY SHADES trilogy, which TWCS originally published before selling the rights to Random House. Pedroza (along with Christina Beebe and Jennifer McGuire) was among the four original partners, along with Amanda Hayward, and Pedroza’s complaint filed last May alleged that Hayward “tried to convert Coffee Shop into TWCS, an Australian sole proprietorship that she, alone, owned. She signed a contract with […]
Malcolm X Estate to Self-Publish eBooks
The Malcolm X Estate will issue an ebook edition of The Autobiography of Malcolm X on their own in May, rather than work with longtime print publishing partner Ballantine, the AP reports. L. Londell McMillan, an attorney for the estate, notes that “Malcolm X was a fervent advocate for self-help, self-reliance and self-respect.” He added, “Today’s technology allows for innovative means to share content and add to it for educational, cultural and commercial purposes. Malcolm X did not grant all rights to a publisher in perpetuity. The works and rights of Malcolm X belong to his children and the community, not a […]